Earlier this summer, Hattie’s Dad sent us this lovely photo of Hattie proudly showing off the gold medal she won for the single length freestyle race at Liverpool Aquatics Centre. She also beat her personal best!
He told us that Hattie loved to swim and we wanted to find out more.
With a little help from her Dad, Hattie’s answered some questions for us!
I’m Hattie, my real name is Harriet Alexandra but everyone calls me Hattie.
I’m 11 years old and I’m very friendly and not much worries me, I’ve been to a lot of different places and I very much enjoy travelling. Especially on an aeroplane to anywhere with a swimming pool. I love swimming the most. My Dad lives near Manchester and has a farm with horses and (hopefully soon some chickens, I like chickens) a friendly dog called Lilly. My sister, Georgia, is at school in Cheltenham and I like to talk to her on FaceTime as I miss her.
Congratulations on beating your personal best swimming free style last month! How did it feel to win and get a gold medal?
I’m a proud member of Cheshire Penguins Swimming Club based near Chester (Go Penguins!) and I’ve been training hard with them for a year now although I’ve actually been swimming every chance that I get since I was a baby. I love swimming and I’ll happily spend all day in a pool.
When I was little I had all sorts of things to help me float but now I can swim all by myself. I’m best at free style but I’m also pretty good at back stroke, the other strokes are much harder and I’ll get better at them as I get older.
In June I went to the North West Special Olympics Championships and I won my race, 25 m freestyle. The other competitors were much older and bigger than me but I put my head down and swam my hardest and won by a couple of inches. It was very exciting. I was very pleased to win and I set a new personal best beating my best time by 15 seconds. My team mates were all very happy for me and I got lots of high fives, fist bumps and ‘crushed its!’
When I got my medal I was very excited and we went outside to take a picture. I’m smiling a lot!
Tell us what you love about swimming.
I love swimming so much and I don’t mind if it’s cold or warm. I especially like to dive to the bottom of the pool chasing my toys. I’ll stay in the pool all day if I’m allowed.
What other hobbies/sports/activities do you enjoy?
Apart from swimming I’m a huge Barbie fan. I have dozens of them at home and I love to play with them.
I went to see the film with my Dad. It was very funny.
I also really like my iPad but I’m not allowed on it as much as I’d like!
What subjects do you enjoy at school?
At school I love reading and PE. My friends and I play and have a lot of fun. I have a great TA, she drew a wonderful picture of me when I left my school this July. I start at my new high school in September and I am very excited to make lots of new friends but I will miss my old friends.
When I won my medal I was presented with it at the School Assembly. All my friends clapped and I was very proud. I wore my medal for a whole week.
Who is your hero?
My hero is either Barbie or Rapunzel. It’s pretty close.
What do you want to do when you’re grown up?
When I grow up I want to be a submarine! I like going under water a lot!
What are you looking forward to this year?
I’ve got lots of things to look forward to this summer including a trip to Africa to see my family for my mum’s birthday. I like Africa a it is hot and there are lots of swimming pools.
Is there anything else you’d like to say to the readers?
If I could say one thing it would be to work hard at what you love doing. Training for swimming is tough but it makes me fast!